Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Oregon
Securing fathers will
My stepmother refuses to give my brother and me a unedited copy of my fathers will.It is a joint tenancy will not a joint will.(no probate)Her attorney wont release it to me without her permission. we are both named in the will.The copy i did get is missing 1 page and 40 lines.Are their any oregon laws or statutes to resolve this matter? I belive she falls short in the area of Fiduciary Duty.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Securing fathers will
I'm not licensed in Oregon, but many states make it a crime to conceal or destroy a Will, and I believe all states would allow you to petition the court to either A) require your stepmother to produce the Will (the ENTIRE Will) or to allow you to B) probate your father's estate as if there were no Will, in which case you and your brother would likely take at least one quarter of the estate each under the rules of intestacy (the rules of distribution when there is no Will).But since it may well be your stepmother is refusing to show you the entire Will is because she does not do as well under the Will as she would without it.Get an Oregon lawyer who knows the law there and can proceed to court to force matters.